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Norman Simmonds
Norman Simmonds made his first appearance 5 July 2011. He is portrayed by George Layton. About All his life, Norman Simmonds has been a follower rather than a leader. He´s indecisive and cautious, but does possess a certain charismatic quality which draws people to him, especially women! Suffice to say, that Norman has been married five times, but has no idea what the ladies see in him. He was rejected by his mother from an early age. Lydia had never wanted a son, and doted on his sister June. As a result, Norman was an awkward teenager, until he fell into the company of Frank Butcher and became his sidekick, despite Frank exploiting his gentle nature, he was Norman´s hero... Norman is an optimist and looks for the good in people but bad luck has followed him all his life and he´s used to it now. He´s a busy person who is involved in lots of social activities; his one true love being rock ´n roll. Storylines Norman is the estranged son of Lydia Simmonds He is first mentioned in the episode broadcast on 9 June, when Lydia calls him a waste of space and says he will get nothing in her will. He arrives in Walford on 5 July, as an "unexpected guest" at his mother's funeral. Norman left EastEnders on 27 October 2011. Norman returned for a single episode on 2 January 2012. Norman goes to Pat Evans' house and they recognise each other, and he mentions that he is widowed again, having been married five times. Norman's niece, Janine Malloy is angry with him because he never bothered with his mother while she was alive. A week later, Pat calls him and asks him to contest the will against Janine who is the sole beneficiary. The next day, Norman phones up Pat, and asks her to visit him in hospital after he stepped on a rake. Pat tries to persuade Norman not to contest the will after all, and he later agrees. It is clear that Norman likes Pat, but she is oblivious to this. Jean Slater takes a liking to Norman and asks him to dress as a Pearly King to help with her campaign to stop the community centre closing. Jean hopes that she can be his Pearly Queen, but he asks Pat to do it instead, and she reluctantly agrees. Norman asks Pat out but she rejects him, while Jean's liking of Norman intensifies. Jean agrees to go to a skiffle event with him. However, she misunderstands, as he is actually giving her both tickets and not going with her. Jean's relative Kat Moon confronts Norman for playing games but he insists he was never planning to go with Jean. This causes an argument between Kat, Pat and Janine, and Janine tells Norman that Pat used to be a prostitute. Norman tells Janine he is ashamed to be related to her. Jean soon becomes obsessed with Norman, constantly sending him text messages. She invites him to dinner, but he says no, saying he would not want to make a habit of it. Jean then mistakenly thinks Norman wants to live with her. He is shocked at this, and asks Kat's husband Alfie Moon for help. Alfie makes things worse though, so Norman is forced to tell Jean that they should just be friends, as he feels she is too good for him. When Pat discovers that her son, Simon Wicks, who lives in New Zealand, is going to lose his home, she fails to get a loan because of her age. Norman offers to help and organises a loan for her. After speaking to her great grandson Liam Butcher, Pat decides she likes Norman and they kiss, she also asks him to stay. However, the next day Norman tells Patrick Trueman that he regularly earns commission for organising loans for people. Patrick then warns Pat about this, and once Pat finds out that the terms of the loan mean if she misses a payment she could lose her house, she rejects Norman, tells him to leave and says she never wants to see him again. A few months later, Norman returns to Walford, saying he has raised enough money to help Pat with the loan. However, Pat has died, so he goes to the Butchers' house to pay his respects. Category:Male Characters Category:Characters Category:Recurring Characters Category:Past Characters Category:Simmonds Family Category:1943 Births Category:2011 Arrivals Category:2012 Departures